The present invention relates generally to doors for vehicles and, more particularly, to a side door assembly for a vehicle.
It is known to provide a door assembly for an opening in a vehicle body of a vehicle. An example of such a door assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,836 to Grinn. A side of a cab portion of a pick-up truck is opened by a continuous aperture extending longitudinally from a front pillar structure to a rear pillar structure. A front door and a rear door together form a door assembly in the cab portion and are swingably mounted on the cab portion to move between positions opening and closing the continuous aperture. However, similar door assemblies typically use exposed hinges that require a release of a hold open mechanism to allow movement past ninety-degree (90xc2x0). The exposed hinges are undesirable from a styling and corrosion standpoint.
In addition, these door assemblies do not allow easy access into the vehicle in a parking lot trap condition. The parking lot trap condition exists when the vehicle is in a confined cross car space. When the front or leading door is opened pivoting on its forward edge, the rear or trailing door that is dependent on the front door then opens, pivoting on its rearward edge. With both doors opened and the vehicle parked along side of another vehicle or structure, access to the vehicle is blocked. This results in the occupant having to think of creative ways to load occupants and cargo into the cab portion that involve multiple handling of the same cargo and additional cycling of the front and rear doors, which is undesired.
Therefore, it is desirable to eliminate exposed hinges and manual door checks for a door assembly of a vehicle. It is also desirable to improve access to the rear passenger/cargo area of a vehicle such as a pickup truck in confined cross-car spaces. Thus, there is a need in the art to provide a side door assembly for a vehicle that meets these desires.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a new side door assembly for a vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a side door assembly for a vehicle that has improved styling/vehicle appearance and corrosion performance.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a side door assembly for a vehicle that improves access to the vehicle in cross car confined situations.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention is a side door assembly for a vehicle. The side door assembly includes a front pillar extending between a roof and a floor of a vehicle body of the vehicle. The side door assembly also includes a rear pillar extending between the roof and the floor and spaced longitudinally from the front pillar to define a door opening in the vehicle body. The side door assembly includes a front side door having a rear end and a forward end pivotally connected to the front pillar to open and close a front portion of the door opening. The side door assembly also includes a rear side door having a forward end and a rear end. The side door assembly further includes at least one hinge assembly connected to the rear end of the rear side door and connected to the rear pillar and having a dual pivot to allow the rear side door to pivot to a first open position and a second open position and to a closed position relative to a rear portion of the door opening.
One advantage of the present invention is that a new side door assembly is provided for a vehicle. Another advantage of the present invention is that the side door assembly improves access to the vehicle in cross car confined situations like parking lots and garages. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the side door assembly improves corrosion performance and improved styling/vehicle appearance. Still another advantage of the present invention is that the side door assembly provides minimal impact to manufacturing and neighboring vehicle systems. A further advantage of the present invention is that the side door assembly improves access to the rear passenger/cargo area of pick-up trucks in confined cross-car spaces.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood, after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.